A lovely peach and cherry sponge cake, fruity and delicious, perfect for an afternoon tea with friends.
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Every Indian had a holiday off on 26th January, if they are in India or in an Indian School. Republic Day commemorates the date on which the Constitution of India came into force replacing the Government of India Act 1935 which was the governing document of India at the time. This year India celebrated the 63rd republic day in grand style, with great pomp and applause. And I celebrated another milestone on this day , my 9th Wedding Anniversary. It is unbelievable, a whopping 9 years have passed since a 20 year old girl entered the establishment of marriage and saw each day through till today,now happily settled in Bahrain with hubby and 2 adorable kids. The journey seems long, and time seems to have moved so fast …!
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We all learn many things in our married life. We learn love, care, tolerance and most importantly patience during this time. Sometimes it bothers me that today marriages have become so expendable. I have known people getting married on a whim and then talks of divorce 6 months later. Is it each one for oneself now? Where has the life together funda gone? Some people attribute it to western influence and some to changing times. I believe that it is only because of lack of foresight and patience.
In every marriage, there are necessarily times when you want to stuff your ears with cotton, or walk out of the front door for some time alone. There are actions that irritate each other and fights that are sometimes petty, sometimes serious. However given time, every relation opens into a much greener pasture, with blooming flowers and happy smiles. Build the trust and have faith. Show patience and love, understand that no man is without fault, no relation perfect and believe that you are meant to be together. Then each day, each passing moment gets better. And there will be less marriages breaking up, and much more happiness in life.
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Have you ever had fruits at home and you were left wondering what to do?? Often I believe.! It is such predicaments of women that led to inventions like banana bread, apple pies and prune buns. These eats are easily prepared and makes use of a lot of fruits, thus making it very healthy and ideal for fussy eaters. Who can resist the lovely aroma of a banana bread with that extra dose of cinnamon..? Not me..! I was to prepare a celebratory cake for today. But everyone at home is down with a viral and a chocolate cake is the last thing on our minds. So I prepared a simple fruit based tea time sponge. It is delicious and healthy. And it makes for a great dessert. This recipe is from Good Food magazine, August 2010. The fruits used can be changed to use whatever is in season. So here is a simple sponge, to a wonderful 9 years gone by and many more happy moments to look forward to. Cheers.!
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UPSIDE DOWN PEACH AND CHERRY SPONGE CAKE
FOR THE SPONGE BASE
- 250g softened butter , plus extra for greasing
- 280g self-raising flour
- 250g caster sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs
- 150ml natural yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
FOR THE TOPPING
- 2 tbsp caster sugar mixed with 1 tbsp flour
- 1 cup Cherries
- 3 x 400g cans peach halves, drained
TO PREPARE
- Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a 20 x 30cm baking tin and line with baking parchment. Sprinkle with the sugar-flour mix. Keep aside.
- Push a cherry into the cavity of each peach half, then place the peaches, cut-side down, in the tin.
- To make the sponge, cream the butter and the sugar together till pale yellow and well combined.
- Add in the eggs, followed by the yogurt and the vanilla essence and beat well.
- Sift the dry ingredients and add it to the bowl and beat till lump free.
- Pour this batter on the layered fruits making sure that the peaches are well covered with the batter.
- Bake for 50 mins-1 hr until golden and risen and a skewer poked in comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool on a rack for 15 minutes,
- Run a small knife along the sides of the cake to dislodge the cake form the pan. Invert the cake onto a board and cut into portion sizes.
- Serve the cake warm with a dollop of cream or some custard.
- In case you are using fresh peaches, use about 8 of them and toss them in about 50 gm of sugar or brown sugar. Gives a different flavor all together.
- If you want a bit of peach in each bite of the cake, chop up some extra peaches and mix them with the batter before baking. Be creative..!
This makes for a delightful tea time companion. The recipe here is for a basic sponge. You can add different fruits depending on what is available during the season. So get on with it and Enjoy..!
A little belated..but happy anniversary,i wish you joy,happiness and togetherness forevermore.
very wise words…love this post!the dessert is to die for…looking scrumptious..beautiful clicks.i hope all of you are felling better now.take care.
Thanx Simran for your great wishes. yes, feeling better now..!
But Ryan is still down. The viral bug in this season takes a couple of weeks to heal.!
Wish you many more happy years of married life. The cake looks absolutely gorgeous.
Thank you dear Fathima, for those lovely blessings..!
Belated Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby.
Cake looks super delicious. Lovely clicks.
Thank you Deeksha. 9 years seems like a long time..!
Congrats on your 9th! I jussst celebrated my 1st anniversary last weekend
And seriously, you got married when you were only 20?! Oh my, so early!!
Nice to know your thoughts on marriages today.
But I believe it two partners realize it’s not working out after all the efforts, they rather split than stay together & make life miserable.
Some marriages continue because of kids or family or society, not for own self.
But if life is not about happiness, then life is death.
Anyway, just my opinion
P.S.: only your first picture is visible – the others aren’t showing up.
Yeah, very early. You do have a point there.. the reasons to continue on should come from within and not be external.
The pictures are displaying… maybe the server was slow then. Hope it has rectified.!
awesome cake..looks so colourful..do link it up with my desserts event…
Will link it in Ramya.!
tht’s a yum looking cake with fine flavours ! pass a slice or two !
Thanx Priya.. the flavors are balanced and it is not overly sweet.
Belated anniversary wishes dear. And u got married at 20.. god you are too great to have patience at such a young age. The cake looks so soft and awesome
Honestly, I could not make a cup of tea when I got married.. patience was the last thing on my head..!
Learnt it the trial and error way..!
wow…irressistible peach cherry sponge cake…..superbly done dear…
Congrats…..and belated happy anniversary wishes dear
Thanx Faseela..
happiness is doubled when all you guys join in the celebration..!
Hi Anzz, happy anniversary to you and yours. And your sponge cake looks delicious, wish I can have a slice now.
Have a nice day.
Thank you dear Amelia..!
Happy Anniversary…..
Cake looks delicious n Lovely..nice clicks.
Thank you Maha..
Happy anniversary..opzie a bit late in wishing:-(
Njoyed reading ur post!!
The cake looks stunning!! I am a big fan of bakes with fruits..
Not late at all, it is when our friendz join in that any occasion becomes a celebration. Am down with a horrible flu.. and all your comments have just pepped me up.. thanx guys, all of you..!
That is one beautiful cake to celebrate one beautiful occasion! Congrats on your 9th wedding anniversary! What a nice coincidence also. My parents are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary today.
The cake looks perfect, very soft and delicious. I personally love sponge cakes with something hot to sip with. I can have them for breakfast, afternoon snack and sometimes dinner too.
I hope those gorgeous fruits on top will help you get rid of the virals. Take care!
I hope so too dear..! The viral is so bad I am moderating about 5 comments at a time coz no energy..! Anywayz thanx for the lovely wishes and many hearty and love filled wishes to your dad and mom..! Hope they had a lovely time..!
belated happy marriage anniverary. beautiful cake
Thank you very much for your lovely wishes and blessings.!
Mouthwatering Recipe..
Aarthi
http://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com/
Aarthi dear am so happy to see you have your own space.. congrats..!
This really looks lovely – wonderful flavors delicate and delicious – thanks for a super recipe
mary x
Happy you liked it dear..
Belated Happy Anniversary!! cake looks gorgeous!!
Thanx Menaga..!
lovely bake..Anzz, I knew only pineapple & apple upside down cake..thanx for sharing such a lovely one!!
Belated anniversary wishes,lovely reading through your marriage concepts..I too agree with your points !!
Erivum Puliyum
I thought that apples and pineapple are mostly used in cakes, But this sponge is great with a variety of fruits. try pears and raspberries or nectarines..! All fab… Thanx for the lovely comment Julie..
Belated Anniversary Wishes…hope u had enjoyed your day…Cake looks awesome and delcicious to the core…loved it!!
Spicy Treats
OnGoing Event ~ Dish It Out-Brinjal n Garlic
Thank you dear… the cake was indeed nice, a change from the heavy cream and calorie laden cakes..
Congratulations on your 9th wedding anniversary! Fluffy and tempting cake perfect for celebration..
Thanx dear..!
Belated Anniversary wishes… Wishing you many more wonderful years of togetherness!!!
The cake looks fresh and delicious!
Thank you … for the warm wishes and loving thoughts..!!
Yummy and mouth watering one…….perfect!!!
Roshna, thanx for your lovely words dear..!!
Happy anniversary dear
…this is just perfect as always 
Thanx dearie.!
O my gosh those cherries look so tempting.
Thanx Shirley. Yeah, I know what you mean about the cherries..!
belated anniversary wishes to you & ur hubby! Apart from the viral illness, i hope u guys had a fabulous day filled with lots of love & laughter
what a lovely post… i agree with u 100% that more & more marriages today are falling apart coz of unwillingness to compromise.. Its me who is a bit short tempered & im always in awe of my husband’s patience & sunny nature. He always teases me how on our 25th anniversary wel remember all the petty arguments & have a good laugh bout the silly reasons that used to ruffle my fur 
lovely pics & that cake looks scrumptious! 
Thanx deeps… ditto here. Hubby enjoys regaling me with stories of our past tussles and watch me go crimson..!! Being a Leo, I always take the bait and get defensive.!:)
Belated anniversary wishes. Nice post! Definitely every relation needs lots of love, time and patience.
A yummy cake to celebrate the occasion.
Thanx Kaveri
belated happy anniversary dear..I agree with each and every word of yours..we will celebrate our 19th anni. in July and still it looks like we are learning from each other, about each other every single day.. Lovely clicks and a great recipe..
Thank you Lizy. You are absolutely right, we learn something new every day..and every anniversary seems better than the last..!
Looks indeed spongy! Nice recipe! Very delicious!
Raks, you should try it, it is very tasty too..! You will love it..!
oh Ann how yum this looks!
Everytime I come over I see that lovely pic of your kids and it makes me want to hug them tight!
Belated Wedding Anniversary wishes Anzz
Cake looks totally yum 
..pass me that slice please !!
Thanx for the wishes Sobha..
simply superb…i’m drooling over here.
happy anniversary and what an anniversary cake!!!
Thanx momto8..!
Belated Happy Anniversary, lovely post and a very beautiful cake.
Thank Sadhana..!
Pretty looking treat that is! Great choice of fruits I must say
Thanx dear. You should try pears, nectarines, strawberries, raspberries, mangoes… all nice.!
Ayyo Ancy, I’m so sorry for being late to wish you on your Anniversary. My bad I didn’t see ur post on time maybe. Still Belated Anniversary Wishes to both of you dear. May God bless you both with all the happiness and joy together
Thats a lovely upside down cake for a lovely day, hope u guys have recovered from the viral.
Thanx for the lovely wishes and all the blessings from you dear… Like I always say, its when I have friendz like you to celebrate with, my happiness is complete. You guys are more of a family now..!
Hi, Happy Anniversary to you , enjoy reading your post ^^ Drooling over your yummy looking cake !
ps : thanks for visiting my blog, a big late ar…..
No probs dear.. glad you dropped by and thanx for those lovely words
spongy cake with yumm yumm topping… new to your space.. love your blog.. I am your new follower..
Thanx dear… Welcome to my space. Great to have you here..!
Belated anniversary wishes to both of u……What a nice coincidence also.. mine was on 27th of jan……..The cake looks so so beautiful.. and spongy……love the fruits on top …….lovely clicks…..get well soon….
Dear, though b’lated , sending all my best wishes and congrats your way Chitra. Hope you had a great anniversary dear… Wishing you many more lovely years ahead..!
Belated Happy anniversary and that cake looks soooo delicious i can eat it off my screen….slurpppp!!
Thank you dear Caysera.
This looks so gorgeous!
Thanx dear..!
Belated anniversary wishes Anzz…
looks super yummy & inviting..;)
Tasty Appetite
Thanx Jay dear..!
delicious looking cake
Thanx dear..
belated anniversary wishes
And wishing you many more years of togetherness 
the click and the cake look super delish !
Kalyani
Event : Valentine Fest – Served with Love
Event : Cook with Spices – Coriander
Thank you dear Kalyani.
Yummy…!!!!
wow..Congrats on your anniversary Anzz!! Hope you had a fantastic celebration! This cake looks so pretty & yum too!!
Thanx Teena, been a long month since all were down with a viral. Back now..! Thanx for the lovely comment dear.!